As NBC Nightly News continued its monotonous drumbeat on Thursday to elevate liberal policy positions ahead of the Democratic debate they were holding, the network gave the megaphone to South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg in order to push for abolishing the Electoral College.
Correspondent Harry Smith let Buttigieg freely suggest the country had to “strengthen American democracy” because we were supposedly in an era of deteriorating voting rights. In reality, his “Big Idea” would damage the framework our founders put in place to protect the people from tyranny.
“America over time has grown more democratic and I think that's a good thing, but it's not a one-way street. Sometimes we’ve taken steps backwards,” the candidate opined. “And I’m afraid we’re living through one of those periods. It's becoming harder to vote and harder to make sure that your vote counts.”
Again playing campaign spokesperson for a Democrat, Smith made the pitch for the solution for the candidate. “Buttigieg wants same-day voter registration nationwide, wants to grant statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., and he says the electoral college has outlived usefulness.” Of course, there was no mention that D.C. was supposed to just be a federal district for federal use and not a state, and was undoubtedly a Democratic stronghold.
“Twice in my young lifetime, I’ve seen the American people overruled by the electoral college. It's time for that to go because it's undemocratic,” Buttigieg decried.
Apparently, when elections don’t go the Democratic Party’s way, it’s a national crisis and American democracy was in peril and thus needed rescuing. And much to the chagrin of liberal elites like those at NBC, America is not a democracy. America is a republic.
As a republic, America has numerous mechanisms built into its systems that were meant to slow down and prevent wild passions from gripping the county and protect from the tyranny of the majority. The Electoral College was one such mechanism. By allocating delegates based on population, the Electoral College allows small states to properly compete with large states to have their voice heard.
If the Electoral College was abolished, small and densely populated areas like the East and West Coasts and big cities would dominate the race for the White House. It would be like how blue New York City controls much of the New York State politics and forces the rural, red counties upstate (and Staten Island) to their will.
Smith was uninterested in any of that. The closest he came to noting the necessity of the Electoral College was when he remarked on how much those small states were going to whine about Democratic progress. “The presidency decided by popular vote easy to embrace for Democrats, but Republicans defending rural states red state will surely recoil,” he chided.
Buttigieg’s solution was to push back the implementation of his plan until the “2030s when it's not clear which party’s going to benefit.” Yeah, sure.
“He says it would strengthen our democracy. The Pete Buttigieg big idea,” Smith boasted as he signed off. These are not “Big Ideas.” They're only liberal ones.
The transcript is below, click "expand to read:
NBC Nightly News
June 13, 2019
7:11:04 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Next, our series, My Big Idea giving the 2020 candidates a chance to tell voters what makes them stand out from the crowd. Tonight, Mayor Pete Buttigieg tells Harry Smith about his big idea to change our democracy.
[Cuts to video]
HARRY SMITH: What's your big
PETE BUTTIGIEG: My big idea is to strengthen American democracy. I'm afraid we're taking our democracy for granted.
SMITH: He's young, he's openly gay.
BUTTIGIEG: This is where the renewal began.
SMITH: And he's the mayor of South Bend, population, 102,000.
BUTTIGIEG: I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor.
SMITH: We sat down with mayor Pete, as he's known in his hometown, at Peg's Restaurant. That's Peg.
BUTTIGIEG: America over time has grown more democratic and I think that's a good thing, but it's not a one-way street. Sometimes we’ve taken steps backwards. And I’m afraid we’re living through one of those periods. It's becoming harder to vote and harder to make sure that your vote counts.
SMITH: Buttigieg wants same-day voter registration nationwide, wants to grant statehood to Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., and he says the electoral college has outlived usefulness.
BUTTIGIEG: Twice in my young lifetime I’ve seen the American people overruled by the electoral college. It's time for that to go because it's undemocratic.
SMITH: The presidency decided by popular vote easy to embrace for Democrats, but Republicans defending rural states red state will surely recoil.
BUTTIGIEG: So, maybe when we make this reform we set it to take effect in the 2030s when it's not clear which party’s going to benefit. But at the end of the day, I think most Americans of any party ought to be able to get on board with the idea that one person, one vote counting equally is the fairest way to choose our president.
SMITH: He says it would strengthen our democracy. The Pete Buttigieg big idea. Harry Smith, NBC news, South Bend, Indiana.
